


You Make Loving Fun

by Galadriel1010



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Case Fic, F/F, Love Confessions, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 06:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29239086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel1010/pseuds/Galadriel1010
Summary: Thirteen finds River, and therefore trouble and a future she'd almost stopped hoping for.
Relationships: Thirteenth Doctor/River Song
Comments: 16
Kudos: 31
Collections: Chocolate Box - Round 6





	You Make Loving Fun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheseusInTheMaze](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseusInTheMaze/gifts).



The valley sides glowed in a deep forest green where the golden sunshine of the early afternoon draped across them like a caress. Strata of harder, darker rock jutted out and cast shadows over the lighter shades below them, and veins of bright blue undulated and eddied like currents in the shallow sea that had laid down the sediment over millions of years. It was far more recent history that drew most of the tourists up the winding valley bottom beside the gentle trickle of the stream that was all that was left of river grand enough to carve out a canyon so wide and deep. Dark entrances carved into the rock itself admitted them to the twisting, twining passages that were recognised as the cradle of civilisation on Rauminice. Ancient paintings daubed with long-dead fingers in pigments brought hundreds of miles showed family groups and the very first farms known on the planet. The Doctor touched her fingers against the wall when she thought none of the tour guides were watching and closed her eyes to feel the years thrumming through her, a smile coming to her lips as she remembered happy evenings by the river, fishing and cooking and watching the children splash around in the shallow pools. The flash of a camera startled her and drew an irritable guide's attention, so she moved on, back out into the light of the riverbank where the crowds eddied like the river once had and street hawkers sold postcards and tunics.

The Doctor ambled on with little more than the occasional curious glance. The spaceport on the plains above had drawn in tourists from all over the sector over the last few years, and she didn't look all that out of the ordinary any more. It hadn't been like that a century ago, but you also couldn't buy quantum-bonded macro-micro clamp pairs back then either. Not that you could get them down in the canyon, being an Area Of Historical Significance, Major Scientific Resource, and National Monument. The Rauminicians didn't really go in for fridge magnets either, which would have done in a pinch. Still, it was nice to have a day like this, keep her feet on the ground. Not give herself time to get too intense. She offered to take the photograph for a small family group and passed their camera back, then turned back to the valley and stopped dead in her tracks.

Human tourists weren't unusual, but they weren't common either. It would have been a really weird coincidence if she'd seen who she thought she'd seen. It couldn't be, could it? But the TARDIS had brought her here for a reason, and it wasn't just the clamps she needed. Probably. And that hair was really, really good, and so familiar. And if she bumped into anyone here, it would definitely be... "River!" she shouted, but the other woman, if it was even her, didn't hear and was swept away in the crowd. The Doctor left her place in the queue and pushed her way up the river towards the busier newer city - relatively speaking. It had only been settled two thousand years. The crowds thickened around the lifts up to the viewing platform above and the narrow passages that twisted their way up through the cliffs, and the Doctor scrambled onto a rock to peer over the heads looking for that familiar golden hair. She finally spotted it, in the middle of a group shooting up through the clear lift shaft and bolted to join the queue before she lost her again.

Soon after the lift disgorged her onto the glass viewing platform that jutted halfway out across the gorge, but she didn't stop to admire the view, just ploughed on, straight through the gift shop to the magtube station that shuttled people straight up to the shopping mall. From there, of course, they had to walk past every shop and restaurant and hopefully spend a lot of money on the 3-mile trek up to the city. That was assuming, of course, that they weren't staying in one of the hotels that shot up into the sky above the mall or aiming for one of the office parks or casinos or gyms that branched off on either side of it.

River, though, or the person with her hair - and the Doctor really hoped it wasn't just a random person - broke off from the flow early on and headed off into the more ad-hoc settlement, the chaotic bustle of tents and caravans that had been set up by the doors, where small traders who couldn't afford the rents in the mall itself grabbed a patch and sold food and clothes and novelty hats. She wove through the crowd and the Doctor pursued her, keeping pace all the way until they hit the marble wall of the mall where a service door stood invitingly ajar. Never one to resist an invitation, especially from River, the Doctor slipped inside and stopped dead, eyes crossing to focus on the gun an inch from her face.

"Tell me who you are, right now," River said coolly, "and why you're following me, and I'll think about letting you go."

The Doctor swallowed hard and focussed past the gun. "Spotter's guide not up to date, honey?"

Realisation dawned like the sun over the twin cathedrals of Manrus 5, and with it joy that echoed through the Doctor. "It's you? But you're..."

"Come here you." The Doctor threw her arms around River and ignored the sound of her gun clattering to the ground in favour of burying her face in her shoulder. "I've missed you. I didn't think I'd see you again."

"You'll always see me again, sweetie." River pushed her away first, only far enough for them to look at each other, still with her arms around the Doctor's waist. "Now... just what are you doing here? And how can I help?"

# # #

They got tiny cups of hot, sour tea from one of the caravans outside, and settled down on a bench away from the main crowds. The sun washed over them from behind as it sank towards the mountains, far in the distance near the Paria Sea, and the car park was already beginning to empty. The Doctor sipped at her tea and stole a glance at the woman beside her, who was laughing at her again. "Really, you're here for some clamps? I'm sure you've got several sets in the TARDIS."

"I broke a set the other day. Well, I say I broke a set. They got broken, I happened to be there. Have you ever tried to tow a Galaxy Class star liner with a Type 40 TARDIS who doesn't want to go that way?"

"Of course I haven't, dear. That's what I have you for." River smiled at her conspiratorially and leaned in. "They don't sell them in the gorge, though. But you were following me down there too, weren't you?"

She shrugged. "Just reminiscing. I visited not long ago. Well, sixteen thousand years ago and two weeks ago. I think. Sort of. You know how it is."

"I know how it is. There's an unusual handprint in one of the caves down there, you know. I was asked to have a look at it, as a specialist in time travellers. They want my expert opinion on whether it's evidence of a prehistoric visitor to the planet. I said I'd take a look." She turned to look at the Doctor. "What do you think? A humanoid handprint deep in an ancient cave system, in an area only recently opened to explorers let alone tourists. Got to be a sign of a prehistoric visitor, and most visitors in that period would have come in more numbers than that. Time Agent or..."

The Doctor turned her hand over and laid it palm-up on her knee. "About that size, do you reckon?"

River reached over and took her hand. Their fingers slipped together, and the Doctor clung on. "About that size, yes." She squeezed gently but didn't let go. "So you really were just in the area? Just spotted me by chance?"

"Yup. I thought 'if that isn't her, I'll eat my hat' and ran after you. Just like old times." She looked up again. "What about you? You weren't here shopping. And you weren't just here for professional interest, Professor Song. What's brought you to Rauminice? Idle curiosity doesn't pay the rate you charge."

"It definitely doesn't" she laughed, head thrown back to beam at the sky. From the corner of her eye, she observed the Doctor, weighing up her options. Eventually she came to a decision with a sigh, and released the Doctor's hand to drape her arm along the back of the bench. There she leaned in and whispered in her ear. "What do you know about the Blathereen?"

The Doctor looked around sharply. "They're a crime syndicate family from Raxacoricofallapatorius, rivals of the Slitheen. I've crossed paths with them a few times."

"Yes, I rather thought you had. They were all but wiped out a few generations back, had your fingerprints all over it. The problem is that groups like that don't stay gone, do they?" Her hand closed on the Doctor's shoulder. "Rauminice has opened to the stars and the stars have come to them. It's become a booming marketplace for everything, and where the law lags..."

The Doctor jerked her chin in understanding. "The smugglers and crime syndicates are running rings around them. They must run the whole place by now."

"Not quite, but pretty close." She pulled her hand back and shook at her wrist to reveal her vortex manipulator from under the draping sleeve. Once she could get at it she flipped the cover back and tapped at the buttons quickly until a floating display flashed up. "This is a rough map of the current smuggling routes from across the sector. Now I'd love to say I'm here to shut the whole thing down, but I am just one woman. All I'm here for is this..." She tapped again and the picture changed to an ornate jewelled egg. "This is a ceremonial hatching chamber of the Belgrassian Royal Family. It was stolen in transit, on its way to the Jakap Empire as part of a peace agreement."

"Well, that's a problem."

"Yes." River looked up at the sparkling towers of the city behind them, lit up in gold and fire from the setting sun. "Especially as it hasn't hatched yet."

# # #

The TARDIS was parked in the middle of the spaceport, down a dark alley between two shabby shops selling every spaceship part imaginable. The Doctor left River to take her up into the city whilst she ran to the wardrobe, and by the time she returned, dressed in a bright pink dress covered with crimps and frills and waves, River was peering into the scanner and the console was quiet. She drifted around the edge of the room, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she went. "So, did you have a plan? What's this party we're going to? We burst in there, steal it back from them and run for it, I'm guessing."

River chuckled. "I thought I'd appeal to their better nature, see if they'll just hand it over."

The Doctor blinked. "What, really?"

"No, dear, they're the Blathereen. They don't have a better nature." At long last River finally looked up, and her reaction was not quite what the Doctor had been hoping for. Her eyes widened and she was just too slow to hide a grin behind her hand. "Oh sweetie..."

"Not... what you were thinking of?"

River shook her head. "Oh my love, has no one taken you shopping yet?" She got control of herself at last and came over to tug the shoulders straight, for all the good it did. "It's not very... current," she said delicately. "And the colour honestly does nothing for you. Come on, my love. Let me show you how it's done."

The TARDIS wardrobe had grown, she was sure of it. The long racks of black and brown and grey gave way to a riot of colour and shapes and fabrics, chiffon and satin and lace cascading around a spiral staircase that wound up and up into the darkness. River rifled through the rails while the Doctor fished in the dressing table for necklace and rings and tiaras. "The fashions right now aren't really my style," she called out, holding up a meringue-like creation in pale blue and shoving it back like it had personally offended her. "They're not really anyone's style to be perfectly honest. No one will expect me to dress for the occasion, of course."

"You've never been one to conform." The Doctor smiled at her and turned a tiara in her hands. "I think this is yours. Or, well, it would have been. I saw it and thought of you. Sort of stole it. Thought you'd like that. Archaeologist and all that."

River stopped what she was doing and approached hesitantly, accepting the tiara with suddenly gentle hands. "It's beautiful. Art Deco, yes? Third... no, fourth time around, these are Venusian diamonds, aren't they? Doctor, it's… Incredible."

She shrugged like it didn't matter. "I thought the emeralds would suit you. If... you know." A million thoughts crossed her mind and she turned away from them, rifling through the chest beside the dressing table instead. "I don't know why I've never really explored this part of the wardrobe. Let you lot have all the fun, clearly. I got too human. Too..." She pulled out a bright blue scarf that just kept on coming. "Too brown."

"At least you've given up on those ridiculous hats. Although I will admit that the Stetson did almost suit you." River held up two dresses and tossed one aside onto a growing pile. "No, it's got to be this one. And then we are going somewhere I can get you into that sparkly black and blue number without starting a war."

“Oh, it’s gorgeous! Where did that come from? Did Jack pick that one up, or… Wait.” The Doctor took it from her and rifled through the drapes and cascades, looking for a zip or buttons or any sort of clue. “Right. I should... I should change."

"I could dig you out a suit, if you prefer," River said quickly. "I'm sure I saw a very nice beaded one that'll go down perfectly..."

"No, no, it's fine. Just new, you know. New body. New everything." She looked down at it, at the cascade of bold red chiffon that rippled across black satin and draped to the floor from her arm. "I don't think I can wear heels. Never tried, of course, but I don't think it's the best idea to do it for the first time when we're probably going to be running for our lives. Again. We do that a lot, don't we? We should go somewhere without running again. Sometime, I mean. I should..."

River trailed her finger along the rail and slunk closer. "Is this babbling just how you talk now, or are you nervous?"

"Oh, that's a new thing. Definitely a babbler. I talk to myself too. Bad habit, but it keeps me company I suppose. I got a bit tangled up after... Doesn't matter. I'll go put this on." She darted behind a curtain, knowing full well that River was watching her go. "Won't be a minute!"

The Doctor hung the dress on a convenient statue and started shrugging out of her long coat and braces. "Come on, Doctor," she told herself firmly, "there's nothing to get het up about. It's just River, and an alien smuggling ring. Just like old times. But in a dress. Wait... it had better have pockets. Where am I going to put my screwdriver if it doesn't have pockets?"

"As if I would give you a dress without pockets, sweetie. Now come on, or we'll be late for the starters."

She grinned to herself as she struggled into the dress, and soon enough she ducked out from behind the curtain and spread her hands. "There, what do you think?"

Somewhere under the cascade of chiffon the dress hugged her, sort of. There were pockets concealed within the waves, too, which was good. She found a Werther's Original in one of them, which was even better. "I'm not sure it's very me."

"You look ridiculous, love." River straightened the shoulders and the neckline again, then ran her fingers through the Doctor's hair to straighten it and rested a hand on her cheek. "But it suits you."

It was just what the Doctor needed to hear. She ran her own hands through her hair to mess it again and then stopped by a mirror to flick it back into place. "Perfect. What about you, aren't you going to change?"

"Of course I am, dear." River gave her another grin and pulled her nanobot spray from her pocket, spritzing herself with it once and then holding out one hand in invitation as her jodhpurs and leather jacket melted away into a black gown with beading like stars and a shimmering cape. "There. Now, would you care to join me for dinner?"

"I'd be delighted, Professor Song."

The top floor of the tallest tower in Rauminice was a restaurant. It always was, whichever building was tallest at the time, and always the same restaurant. River handed their invitation to the maître d', an actual invitation rather than psychic paper, and smiled at him sweetly when he extended a hand to guide them into the room. "Courtesy of my employer," she explained quietly. "The big auction is tomorrow; it'll go on for days. I am here in my professional capacity as an archaeologist and researcher, here to appraise and offer my professional opinion on some of the artefacts on offer. A few of them are on display tonight."

"Right, and I'm here as..."

"Cavet!" River greeted a slender young man who propelled his wheelchair towards them with dancer's grace. "It's been too long, dear. How are you?"

"Doctor Song. No, wait, it's Professor now, isn't it?" He took her offered hand and smiled when she bowed to kiss the back of his fingers. "Charming as ever. And who is this lovely lady with you?"

River wrapped an arm around the Doctor's waist and turned to beam at her. "This is my wife. Darling, meet Doctor Cavet Sinclair. Archaeologist."

"Oh. Oh! Oh, yes, lovely to meet you," she gushed, flustered when Cavet kissed her hand and grinned up at her. "I read your book. The one on drinking vessels, with the illustrations. I really liked the teapots, had to get one for myself."

He tilted his head with a flicker of suspicion. "The Huy Dynasty ones, thirty second century? Those go for a fortune at auction."

River sighed, rolling her eyes heavily. "Honestly, Cavet, you'll get used to me one day. They were very cheap when they were new, you know."

"You see, this is why so few have been found in digs. It's all you bringing them home to impress the Mrs." He smiled up at them and made to turn away. "Lovely to meet you... wait, I didn't get your name?"

"Moni," River said quickly. "Moni Song, of course. If you can be a Song, why wouldn't you be?"

He rolled his eyes at her again. "Lovely to meet you, Moni. River, please try not to break anything."

She glared at the back of his head as he rolled away and sighed dramatically. "How does he always know when I'm up to something?"

"Lucky guess, maybe? You are usually up to something. We're up to something right now. Who is he? Is he going to be trouble?"

"Cavet? No. Former classmate of mine and now colleague, although he's at a different university. Just transferred to New New York State, I think." She paused in rummaging through her bag to think about that. "Or from it. Good researcher. Injured in an accident on a dig up in the Himalayan foothills. Lucky for him, really. Kept him out of the next expedition when they bumped into the yeti." She found what she was looking for and paused to use the mirrored pillar to apply her lipstick. "Yes, this is what you think it is. Just in case. Now. Dinner?"

Dinner was lovely. People drifted over to them constantly, drawn in by River's gravity and delighted to meet her wife. Latest wife, as became clear quickly when a statuesque woman with iron-grey hair and a steely glare introduced herself as the Doctor's predecessor. Throughout it the Doctor stayed quiet, unless she could get really enthusiastic about the artefacts on show. A bit too enthusiastic at times, people were starting to give her knowing looks. She flushed as the latest couple went away and ducked her gaze to the tabletop. "Sorry. I'm not very good at this... pretending to be normal thing."

"I wondered what you were doing. You don't have to, you realise? Look at Cyra. She's anything but normal. No one expects me to be married to anyone normal." She leaned in and did not kiss the Doctor's cheek, for obvious reasons, but the intention was clear. "You're doing wonderfully, my love. Relax, enjoy yourself."

The Doctor smiled at her weakly, but the reassurance did help. By the time they'd finished the fourth course and their second bottle of very good wine she was grinning along with one of River's stories while her eyes drifted around the room. That was how she spotted them. River didn't pause in her story when the Doctor's ankle pressed against hers, but she wrapped it up and the latest couple drifted away again back to their own third course and River's full attention was back on her again, as overwhelming and glorious as lying in the sun naked. "What is it, what have you seen?"

"The Blathereen, are they likely to be here tonight?"

"I suspect so, but with the skin suits I don't know if we'll spot them until it's too late."

The Doctor picked up her empty glass and nodded down the room, to where Cavet was laughing at something a smartly dressed Rauminician man was saying. "Who's that talking to Cavet? He hasn't been over to say hi."

"That's Ker-ak'lo, managing director of the company that owns his building and half the spaceport. I don't know him well, but... Tell me you're not saying what I think you're saying?" She gritted her teeth. "I hate them."

"River, you know you said you weren't planning on bringing down this smuggling ring because you're only one woman?" The Doctor wrapped River's hand in her own and squeezed. "Well, think two women could manage it?"

She wiped her lips with a napkin and caught the Doctor's chin, pulling her in to kiss her. "Us, absolutely. Good job you brought this face, dear. Now, I have a plan, and it may involve a series of small explosions. We've got to get Cavet out of there, though. That's probably why they've drawn him in."

The Doctor looked over at where he sat with three, four? Too many Blathereen. "I've got this. I'm going to go and flirt with him."

"Is that a thing you do now? Don't tell me you've got good at flirting."

"Terrible at it. Pretty sure. Hope so. Going to find out, though." She took a deep breath and stood up. "Wish me luck."

It was, in the end, easy enough to draw Cavet away from his conversation with a bottle of wine and several utterly filthy stories about her adventures with River. They were at the bar when River caught the Doctor's eye and indicated, as casually as she could, the bomb she'd tucked into the base of a plant pot. Another gesture indicated that there were a few more, scattered around the room, and a final one drew her attention to the artefacts on display in a clear space. The Doctor sipped at her drink and tucked a hand into her pocket, deep in the frills and ruffles of her dress, and nodded over towards one of the cases. "River didn't say, I take it you're here with an expert eye like she is? What do you think of what's on show?"

"Honestly?" He turned and wheeled towards them, leaving the Doctor to follow. "Not a lot. Provenance is a rare word in this corner of the sector, but... Well, it'll be a shame to see it all pass into private hands. The university has sent me to bid on a couple of the smaller pieces, nothing on show here tonight. It should all be in museums, really."

She nodded and glanced over at River, who was chatting with the Managing Director and laughing too loudly for it to be real. "What's this one, then? Looks like a Fabergé Egg."

"Fabergé? Where did River find you?" He chuckled and leaned in to peer at the egg casing. "It's Belgrassian. They're from a planet called Ilmarta, race known as the Perik. Reptilian; probably descended from Old Earth Silurians. They create these incredible casings for their eggs. This one..." Cavet trailed off and pulled his glasses out of his pocket. "Good grief."

"What?"

"It's intact. Actually intact. You see that line around the middle, that's the seal. This egg has never hatched!"

There were enough people close to them for a ripple of shock, interest and some mild horror to spread from where they stood to the very edges of the room. The only people who didn't manage to pretend to be surprised were the Managing Director and his friends, who just looked annoyed. Cavet wheeled around and beckoned to one of the black clad security hovering at the edges of the room. "You, fetch someone from the auction house. This egg needs to be secured immediately."

"I've got a better idea," the Doctor told him. She dug her screwdriver out and tried it on the lock, but of course it was deadlocked. "Damnit. Oh, wait... The casing. They never think to deadlock the casing." The screws holding the whole thing together shot out, causing startled yelps and a shout of anger from the Blathereen. "Don't trust anyone," she hissed as she grabbed the egg and shoved it into his hands. "Get out of here."

"On it, Doctor." He flipped back a panel in the arm of his chair and stabbed at the buttons, and a moment it shot up into the air, hovering over everyone's heads. "Oh yes, I've worked out where she found you!"

She laughed out loud, and then ducked as the explosions started.

The room filled quickly with screaming and smoke, and people pushing their way to the exists. A star cruiser’s worth of precious stones flowed towards doors helpfully marked by cheerful emergency exit signs that flashed in time with the alarms blaring through the room. The Doctor bolted after the Blathereen representatives and drew her sonic, tightening the screws on the casings even as they tried to unlock them. “No you don’t,” she muttered. “That definitely belongs in a museum.”

One of them drew what was obviously a weapon and she ducked behind a fallen table. River's hand found hers and held on tight. "Where's the egg?"

"Cavet has it."

"Fine. We need to get out of here." Another explosion near them scattered them with glass, and the Doctor realised that it was shooting rather than one of River's explosives. "Come on!"

They legged it across the room, ducking explosions and diving past screaming people. "Did you have a plan or was I supposed to have one?" The Doctor shouted.

"Don't worry, I've got a plan."

She yelped and dove behind a pillar, dragging River with her to avoid more shooting. They stared into each other's eyes and River grinned at her. "What is your plan?" The Doctor asked breathlessly. "Just so I know if I need to help out."

"Step two, expose them. Step three, get them to start shooting." River rested her hands on the Doctor's hips and drummed her fingers against them. "Step one was 'invite journalists'."

"Oh..."

"This is being broadcast live across the sector by now. They'll have no time to change their faces and every spaceport will be closed to them." She grinned. "Tell me I'm good."

The Doctor beamed. "You're better than good. You're amazing."

"I know, but I do like to hear it, sweetie." There was another explosion and the shouting of security staff. "Right. Time to leave it to the professionals. Come on, dear. We're leaving."

Cavet caught up with them in the foyer, where medical staff were treating the injured and Rauminician police were swarming the scene, taking notes and questioning everyone. He lifted the corner of his jacket from his lap and revealed a flash of gold and jewels. "I didn't know whether you'd want this publicising, River. Seemed like the sort of thing that might need to slip away quietly."

"Oh no, I think it needs to make an exit." River held her hand out for it and raised it to her face where she could examine it. "Do you know who's in this?"

He chuckled. "Some of us aren't time travellers. Go on, tell me. What should I put money on?"

"Spoilers." She handed it back with unusual care and pointed him towards the chief of police and the gaggle of reporters he was already having to entertain. "I'd go and get it on as many screens as you can, then no one will risk getting in the way again. And then it can slip away with us."

"Alright. What am I telling them?"

"Oh, just that you went to examine the casing and realised it was intact. The truth, if you like." River shrugged happily and behind her a light fitting exploded in a shower of sparks. "I do like it when a plan works out."

"Maybe not the whole truth though, River." He offered his hand to the Doctor and smiled up at her. "It's good to meet you at last. She talks about you all the time."

"Really?"

He laughed. "Never stops. Darillium sounded lovely." Before the Doctor could get her head around that statement, he'd accepted the egg that River had pressed into his hands hurriedly and was wheeling away again. "Try to stay out of trouble for five minutes?"

"Darillium? You've done Darillium?" She shook her head and her nose scrunched. "That's not... that's not possible, though."

River laughed, full-throated and happy. "Spoilers, sweetie."

"No, but it's..."

"Spoilers." River flicked the tip of her nose and smiled when she scowled. "You'll figure it out."

She swallowed hard. "You're not going to disappear or something. You are really... really here?"

"Why, is that the sort of thing I do?" River was grinning when she said it but stopped at the look on the Doctor's face. "I'm sorry. Is that why you talk to yourself?"

The Doctor turned to watch Cavet making his impassioned speech to the cameras. It was already being beamed across the galaxy. "He's a good man. They're rare."

"He is, and a lucky one. I was too young when we met to... well." River shrugged and her shoulder brushed against the Doctor's. "No one matched up to you in those days. So he got over me and met a wonderful person who makes him far happier than I could ever care to. Some stories do have happy endings. Even the ones I'm in."

The Doctor laughed bitterly. "I still don't like endings. Even happy ones."

"Yes, I know." River released her hand - she hadn't even realised she'd been holding it - and stepped away. "I'll get the princeling back and we can drop him home safe and sound. He's got a world to save when he's older."

# # #

The dust storm had roared in from the south as the sun sank below the horizon, mothering the burgundy shadows that rippled between ruby dunes in early darkness. Down in the city the streets were deserted save for a few hardy souls who braved the wind and stinging sands with their heads down and scarves pulled tight across their faces, hurrying from shuttered shops to homes or bars where the celebrations were just getting started. Up in the throne room of the Imperial palace, the party had been going for hours and was still in full swing. The Empress and her consorts mingled with nobles of Belgrassa and officials of a dozen other nations, but of the guests of honour there was no sign.

The Doctor found River on a balcony protected by a forcefield. With her elbows resting on the marble rail the voluminous sleeves of her gown, which wouldn't have looked out of place in a Lord of the Rings adaptation from any century, fluttered in the light breeze so that the silver beading glittered where it caught the dying light of evening. She looked around for long enough to give the Doctor a complicated smile before turning her gaze back to the deep green of the sea and the archipelago that stretched across it like jewels. "It’s a beautiful world, this. And has a golden age coming."

"That was Prince Casara we rescued, wasn't it?" She braced her hands on the rail, right hand brushing against River's elbow, and scrunched her nose in thought. "I met him once, and Empress Andju of course. There was a... a thing. Shape changer hidden in the royal gallery. I recognised his egg casing. Good job it's all in your name, really."

"Nice to know I can still surprise you, my love." River turned her head to grin up at her. "Didn't they list your contribution?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Just Professor and Mrs Song. Your wife, y'know?"

"Oh." She looked back out at the darkening sea. "I'm sorry, I should have..."

"I like it. When you introduced me to people today, I liked being introduced as your wife. Never thought I'd get to be her, to be honest. Thought that was... well, you know" Her fingers curled around the rail and she couldn't even glance at River. "Didn't think I'd see you again."

Next to her River straightened up and wrapped her hand around one of the Doctor's. "I'm sorry. It must be hard, never knowing..."

"If it's really the last time." The Doctor looked at her at last, with a deep grief in her ancient eyes. "I'll never stop hoping that..." She smiled crookedly. "You always find a way to surprise me, don't you?"

River reached out for the doctor's cheek with her free hand, turned it and tipped her face into place for a deep, sweet kiss. "Come to bed. The Empress has given us a suite in the palace, six poster bed and everything. It would be terribly rude to turn down such an invitation." She brushed her lips against the Doctor's cheek, trailing kisses up to her ear. "Come to bed with me, Mrs Song."

# # #

River's apartment was small, but she kept the smallest bedroom empty at all times, clear of any papers that could be whipped into chaos or any inconvenient trip hazards that could confuse the unwary traveller. The TARDIS materialised in the same corner she had so many times before, with her doors facing the bedroom door, but neither of them moved towards them. River tapped at the scanner and smiled to herself. "Spot on, of course. Half an hour after I left. Just long enough to be sure."

The Doctor smiled and stroked at the TARDIS console. "You just like River better than me, don't you?"

The TARDIS hummed at her in quiet, smug satisfaction.

"Yeah, alright, don't rub it in." She flicked a couple of switches just for something to do with her hands. "Back to the snotty nosed students, then? I miss lecturing, it was good fun. All those empty minds to fill up with the wonder of the universe. Shame about the marking, but someone has to do it. And it's better than being the caretaker, I'll give you that. Maybe I should go back to teaching. You meet such interesting people in education. I'm sure Coal Hill needs a teacher. They always need teachers, and I really should do something about that Rift. Sorry, rambling again. Do that a lot."

River shook her head with a fond smile. "You're travelling alone again. You know it isn't good for you."

"I don't have to. I mean... if you want, I don't have to. You could come with me. We've never done that, not properly. Can't take you to see the oldest cliff in the universe, you've already been. End of the universe is a bit dark, but..." She shrugged and flicked more switches until the TARDIS grumbled at her. "Sorry. Just... If you like. I'd like it."

"Are you asking me to come with you?"

"Yeah. Sorry, did I not say?" She ducked her head again and peered through the glass at the TARDIS's central column. "If you like, if you want. It's not..."

River slid around the console to stand next to her. "Are you worried I'll say no?"

The Doctor went very still. "Again. Yeah, I am a bit."

"I'm not saying no." She waited until the Doctor looked up, and that radiant smile of happy realisation started to dawn at last. "I would love to."

"But?"

She shook her head. "No buts, not this time." She reached out and pulled down on the lever, and with the sound of the universe rearranging itself around them they plunged back into the Time Vortex once more. "Now... Have you been to Caltheta? There's this amazing orchid house in the capital and they do the most fabulous cocktails."

The Doctor grinned and grabbed River, pulling her into a fierce hug that made her yelp with surprise and happiness. "This is going to be ace." Her hands framed River's face for a fierce, joyful kiss. "I am so looking forward to being your wife, I cannot tell you."

"Well, you have plenty of time to try. We've got a universe to show each other, my love." She backed away from the console, tugging on the Doctor's hand. "Come on. I need a new dress for the occasion, and I'm thinking sequins. Matching sequins."

**Author's Note:**

> Having seen Jodie's taste in OTT dresses, I think Thirteen needs to wear more of them.


End file.
